Seeking Immortality
1612, A01 Dominic ran scared through the darkened alleys of Venice, stopping occasionally to catch his breath. But he knew he couldn't stop. Two fortnights ago, his accomplices told him he shouldn't go public. He should've listened to them. And it wasn't like he could redeem himself anymore. They all laid under the dead soil that was the local graveyard. He turned a corner, and came to a canal with a bridge over it. There was a crowd going over the bridge. The perfect cover. Dominc slipped into the mass of moving bodies and tried to make himself look as less noticable as possible. His black jacet was shed, and sent drifting on the canal. Nothing was important anymore, save for survive. Once over the bridge he realised his mistake: he was now in an less populated area of Venice. He would be as easily spotted here. Behind him the crowd parted, and he took off running. Two lefts and a right later, he came to a dead end. He turned back. "Where is it?" A hand shoved him back. He felt a stab of pain in his back. The hand grabbed his throat. Immediatly Dominic felt pain coursing his entire body. His hair turned white and started falling. "I will ask you again," the voice said a second time. "Where is it?" "I-I-I don't know," Dominic tried to claw at the hand holding him, but the strength had left him. "No-" wrinkles had started to appear on his face, around his eyes and mouth. "Please," he gasped, but the man didn't let go. About fifteen seconds later Dominic expired. The killer tossed his body aside and touched his face. So much better now. 2059, A01 Ferid took a swig from the bottle of vodka under his desk, savouring every drop. James had forbidden any form of alcohol in Omega Tower (other than Rum Raisin ice-cream) but the Bosnian was having none of that. As security director he was to keep the defence system organised, the guards briefed and any intruders dead. As he took a second swig, a pistol shot rang out. Ferid yelped and dove under his table, as his vodka bottle was blasted to smithereens by a .357 bullet. "No drinking at work," James Saturday pocketed the revolver and peeked under the table, where Ferid was cuddling a table leg. "How many times do I have to tell you?" Ferid stopped shaking and stood up. He hit his head on the table edge. "Ow," he complained, and sat back down at his chair. "How did you even get inside my office? Only I have the code." Then he realised it was a stupid question. "Director access," James said, waving his key card, "I have a job for you." "Well, I don't have time-" "Have you ever heard of the Fountain of Youth?" James interjected. Ferid stopped speaking and nodded silently. He took out a small notepad and a pen. "I think I've pinpointed it's location." Ferid scribbled furiously. Guatemala, A01 "Gordon, pass me the flashlight." The agent handed James the torch. He swung it around the cave. "I think this is it." Symbols and runes were carved into the stone, and there were images everywhere. Pictures of men with wings drinking water from a waterfall; light shining behind them; all the usual angel stuff. But this time is was real. "You sure we're going to find it here?" Ferid nervously looked around. "I'm pretty sure." "Pertty sure? That's not good enough!" "I mean," James tried to correct himself, "I'm sure." "But you just said pretty sure-" "Shut up. Forget it." They advanced slowly, on the lookout for bats and insects as they did. After ten minutes they reached a dead end. "That's not possible." James set a little dish-shaped device on the ground and held up a mobile device. He turned around several times. "What's that?" Ferid asked. "I'm using echolocation to search for hidden doors. Now once I see a little ledge I...got it!" He rapped his knuckes on a section of the cave wall. "Here, I think. Gordon." Agent Gordon kicked in the cave wall, which crumbled like plaster to the ground. Behind it was a vast cavern with a pond in it. Gordon took the flashlight from James and shone it accross the room. The walls glittered with gemstones. Suddenly Gordon was jerked forwards and he slammed onto one of the walls, dropping his flashlight at Ferid's feet. The torch spun around, giving Ferid and James snapshots of the fight ensuing betwwen Gordon and the unseen attacker. The attacker was grasping Gordon's face in his hands, and Gordon was visbly...aging. Ferid drew his pistol and waited for Gordon's certain demise. Finally the Agent collapsed and Ferid opened fire on the figure, but he was too quick and grabbed Ferid as well. Knowing that he was gong to die if he didn't do things right, Ferid fired one shot into the attacker's forearm, making him release his grip on Ferid. "Ah!" Ferid plunged into the pool. James, meanwhile, was also firing at the killer. A rope came out of nowhere and wrapped around his revolver, jerking it off into the darkness. He thought the killer was going to kill him as well, but Ferid leapt out of the pool and grabbed the him with both hands. Drenched but focused, the attacker reversed the grip and instead started to strangle Ferid. Ferid could see wrinkles disappear along the attacker's face, his eyes getting younger and younger as he held on to Ferid. The man dropped Ferid. His body was not no bigger than an infant's and still shrinking. His facial features became distorted and his arms stuck to his body. Within the space of twenty seconds, the killer had become a foetus. James shot the foetus and continued tothe centre of the room, where the pool was. "Finally." Ferid, on the other hand, was unscathed. "Who was that? Why am I not dead?" "Stop asking obvious questions Ferid. The man there was Vladimir Styx, one of the UCF's Council of Five. He's here to apparently end his suffering. You're not dead because you're now like me." "What?" "You drank the water? This is the fountain. and now I get to finally finish my mission." James took a small sphere out of his pocket and dropped them into the pool. "I'm going to destroy it." "No!" Ferid launched himself at James, screaming. James pushed him off and dropped in the last sphere. "You can't do this!" "Try and stop me." Ferid raised his gun, but couldn't bring himself to shoot a friend. "Why? This could've been for the world." "And let everyone be immortal? We'd crowd the planet in a year, much faster than we can find Universes to clonise!" James shouted, "Don't you understand, it'll destroy us!" Ferid lowered the gun, then backed out of the cave. He would never look at James the same way again. James walked out of thew chamber with remote in hand. He flicked the safety off and pushed the button. Omega Tower, A01 Ferid drank nonstop from the vodka bottle, trting to forget the events of the past day. He knew he couldn't argue with James; anything James said was final. It came with being the boss. James walked into his office. Ferid held up the bottle. "You're not going to reprimand me this time, are you?" "No. Not this time." James shifted uncomfortably. "I just wanted to say...um. I'm sorry." He produced a bottle of rum. "Wanna swap?" "No thanks. I think you should leave." James nodded. As he left, Ferid fingered the pistol in his pocket and smiled. One of these days he was going to shoot that rum bottle.